Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) symposium on aging, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease

Nearly 7 million U.S. adults are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and deaths from AD have increased by 141% in recent years. There is no guaranteed method for prevention, early detection, or cure. Since 1994, the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study has collected observational, clinical, and laboratory data on more than 6,300 older adults and is following them over time for signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The ACT study prioritizes data sharing via the ACT Repository. For the past eleven years we have held an ACT symposium to share new ideas, research findings, and work-in-progress on aging and dementia and to encourage collaborations, bringing together scientists from a range of disciplines and expertise. Since 2017, the ACT symposium has been supported by an R13 grant from the National Institute on Aging. This support allowed us to grow beyond a small conference to a larger, expansive format with abstract submissions from junior investigators and travel support for featured speakers and external collaborators. During the last three symposium, we have welcomed over 500 attendees from 30 different institutions. These included an average each year of over 70% female attendees, 30% first-time attendees and 27% junior investigators. A renewal of this conference grant is essential for future symposia. The specific objectives of our conference grant are: to promote scientific use and understanding of ACT data; to encourage collaborations across scientific disciplines, institutions, and research studies; to provide opportunities for junior investigators to receive feedback on ongoing work such as analyses-in-progress or new grant ideas; to enhance conference participation by adding the capacity for a hybrid meeting option and through expanded communications and publicity. This funding will enable us to continue to expand our attendance by reserving a conference space that can accommodate our attendees, defraying travel costs of speakers, and incorporating appropriate technologies. The ACT symposium is vital to maintaining the visibility of ACT data resources, elevate ACT data sharing, and move forward aging and dementia research, particularly studies that involve ACT participants.